Forever Protector
by MewMewstreet
Summary: Vincent proves that he'll always be there for Tifa, no matter what. AU. Oneshot.TifxVin


**A/N: **I haven't posted any fanfiction in a loooong time. This one was for a friend for her brithday, which was in June. I only got around to finally posting this b/c I'm procrastinating on my homework, lol. Well, enjoy~

**Warning: **Cloud is OOC

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the Final Fantasy games or any of its characters.

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**Forever Protector**

Tifa tilted her glass back and forth, making the ice clink and rattle, trying to entertain herself in some sort of way. Even if it was for a moment, it would help pass the time as she waited. The tavern had a thick, unpleasant smell that reeked of all kinds of drugs and alcohol. It also had a distinct smell of urine and among many other things much worse then that.

The sound of plates and glasses clinking filled the air, along with low and gruff voices of burly men. Their voices slurred and cursed from having one too many. They spoke of how they couldn't stand their wives and girlfriends. About the economy and politics and whatever other common subjects men talked about.

She shifted in her spot on her stool, as she looked from the corner of her eye to the silent shadow that sat next to her. He was always there; he could never have any sort of contact with those around him though. He did have to be noticeable enough that those around her would know of his presence and that he was there to guard her, to make sure no one came to close. He was an invisible shield that would never leave her unless destroyed, and from what she had seen, that was close to impossible.

Tifa looked over her shoulder with a quick glance, almost expecting to see someone glancing her way. She knew that was a very low possibility . Plenty of men used to, though as soon as Cloud had hired her a bodyguard any time men whistled at her or even tried to look her over, they learned their lesson not to. It wasn't like Cloud didn't tell them to back off, but every time he went out of town for "business" or he couldn't be around her, her guardian was there.

Tifa never felt uncomfortable to have him there and his presence was always somewhat soothing, but she wished he talked a lot more then he did. Then again, Cloud would probably be upset if he did.

"Vincent," Tifa rested her glass on the counter, crossing her arms in front of her to lean forward, "do you want something to drink?"

The shadow next to her did not stir nor even acknowledge that he had heard her at all. She glanced up across the bar to see Cloud in a dark corner, talking lowly to a suspicious man. It didn't look like he would glace her way anytime soon.

"It's alright to talk, y'know." she smiled, nudging him slightly, " I don't mind."

He finally sighed, turning his head toward her, his face just as sad as it always was. His maroon eyes stared up at Tifa, having an almost calming effect on her like they always did, even though they were dulled by the shadows that covered his face from the hood he wore most of the time.

"Tifa," her heart brightened at the tone of his voice, something she could never hear to much of, "I shouldn't be. I'm only here to serve and protect you."

"Shut up," Tifa playfully pouted, "you'll serve and protect me by not letting me die of boredom."

"Cloud doesn't…." he glanced over at the corner before looking back at Tifa, "It's a part of my job to only protect you and nothing else."

Tifa sighed, resting her chin in her palm still staring at him with disappointed eyes, "Yes, it is part of your job, but you scare everyone away so I'm not able to make friends. So, to serve me, I order you to at least hold a conversation with me at least every once in a while to make up for the social problems you cause for me."

Vincent held her gaze for a little longer before facing forward quickly, hiding his face from her with his hood once more.

"Vincent-"

"What the hell are you doing?" the sound of Cloud's voice made Tifa jump. She looked to see him heading from the corner toward her and Vincent. She slid off of her stool as he approached, not sure how to exactly to react at the moment, after all she didn't know why he was even upset.

"What are you talking about?" she replied trying to sound irritated, but instead it came out shaky and unsure.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" His voice only got louder with every word, others in the bar starting to look their way.

"Don't start with me Cloud!" Tifa yelled, her fist clenching, unintentionally flinching and stepping back as he approached her. Cloud reached forward and snatched her arm towards him, making Tifa yelp in pain.

"Who the he-?"

"Let….go!" Tifa screamed snatching away from Cloud before turning away and storming out of the bar which followed with an awkward silence. Then the men returned to their shallow conversations. Cloud turned back around toward Vincent, who had stood from his stool already. He stood tall and silently, making sure to avoid eye contact with Cloud, unless he wanted to get the ignorant man started again.

"Well," Cloud mumbled, glaring at Vincent, "what the hell are you waiting for? Go after her, I pay you to protect her."

Vincent stood there for a moment, staring down at the rotten, wooden floor. When he finally began to move, as he passed by him, Cloud grabbed Vincent's arm tightly.

"Don't you dare look at her that way again." he growled before letting go of the cloaked man and heading for the corner he had been before.

Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath before heading out of the tavern himself.

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Tifa sniffed then sighed as she rounded a corner, heading toward an unknown destination. She pulled her leather jacket close, shivering and watching the small white puffs of smoke she breathed float into the air. Tifa turned another corner, not exactly sure where she was going, but she knew she just wanted to get as far away as possible. She didn't want to be near anyone at the moment, not even Vincent.

She blinked up at the unfamiliar buildings she passed. It seemed unusually quiet for that street, even though she wasn't exactly sure what street she was on.

Tifa bit her lip nervously, speeding up her walk, searching for a street sign so she could find her way back to her apartment. The sound of footsteps joined along with her's behind her as she shivered from the cold and paranoia.

_'Just your imagination, Tifa, don't turn around.' _She thought to herself to calm herself down.

A cough and a deep chuckle could be heard as she started to speed up her walk a little more and the footsteps behind her began to increase their speed also.

_'Go away, go away. ' _ She told the sounds behind her, _ 'You don't exist! I don't want to deal with you right now!' _

Soon she spotted a street sign, seeing that she was only a few blocks from home and safety. She started to jog, gradually getting faster and the footsteps behind her doing the same.

"Hey, where ya goin'?" one of them finally shouted, bringing an uproar of whistles and comments toward her as she started to take off on a full on sprint. She knew she could probably out run those stupid, drunk losers and if they got too close she could fight them off, but it would be best if she could just get to her apartment…

As she was coming pass an alley, a large meaty hand reached out and grabbed her arm, making her shriek, as he pulled her into the alley. She hit the brick wall, the impact knocking the breath out of her. Her head hit the wall also, causing her vision to spot and her head started to pound furiously. She tried to regain herself, but before she could respond, she heard the men who had been chasing her move into the alleyway, chuckling and breathing hard. Their breath rank of alcohol as expected.

Tifa tried to push herself up further up the wall, having slumped down from the unexpected and discombobulating attack. From her blurry vision and the dark, she saw a total of five men. She could take them on if only the world would stop spinning.

Hands grabbed at her pants first and some at her arms and her . She quickly and blindly fought as she kicked up and connected with a guy's chest, sending him stumbling backwards. She snatched her right arm away from whoever had grabbed her before swinging over with her left and punching them square in the nose. The two men she had hit spit out curses and called her names, as she blinked a few more times and stumbled, still feeling dizzy. The man who pulled her into the alley grabbed both of her wrist and hoisted her into the air before throwing her down.

She fell on her back, hitting her head again on the wet, stinky and sticky pavement. It sent out another wave of pain and frustration as she tried to make the world right again. She rolled to her side before she figured out moving only made the world spin even more, she rolled back onto her back. The men above were closing in, now irritated and drunk instead of their chuckling moods earlier. The one she had kicked in the chest was back and just as pissed off as the rest of them, but the one she had punched in the nose stood back, holding his nose as buckets of blood ran from it.

"That's it, you little bitch." one of them pulled her up by her shirt roughly, making her whimper. She didn't know it was so hard for her to fight back, maybe it was the alcohol she decided to drink at the bar, or maybe even that everything was a blur and she just couldn't concentrate. Maybe she just didn't feel like fighting. Whatever it was, she wasn't normally kicking the shit out of the guys who attacked like she should've been.

Suddenly, a cry came from one of the men near by and another before the other could react. The guy who had her by the shirt, was pulled away from her in an instant and flipped down on his back hard. The man let out and grunt before laying on the ground in pain and shock.

For a moment, Tifa thought it was the dark that was moving and attacking the men until she recognized the cloaked figure in front of her was her own dark guardian angel. Her knees suddenly buckled as she started to sink down to the ground. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and then swept her off her feet so that she was now being carried by them bridal style. She immediately clung to the familiar figure, closing her eyes to the warmth he gave.

"Touch her again and I'll make sure to kill each and everyone of you. You're lucky I'm leaving you alive now."

With that, he walked out of the alley with Tifa in his arms.

Tifa laughed softly at Vincent's statement to the men and out of relief. She hissed as dizziness hit her again, and she closed her eyes tighter.

"You're injured," he said, "your head's bleeding." She felt him speed up his walk.

"No shit?" she mumbled into his chest, "Then you should go back and slit each one of their throats or shoot at them like you usually do instead." Tifa pulled back her head a little and opened her eyes when he slowed down looking at her. She could see his face better at this angle and it made her heart race fast again.

"I'm kidding, though it would be nice." another wave of nausea hit her and she groaned quickly closing her eyes and burying her head back into his chest, "Just go, I feel horrible."

He began to walk faster again until he pushed through a door, which she assumed was the apartment door.

"Tifa?" he called to her as they headed up the flight of stairs.

"Hm?" she mumbled.

"You know that….I'll always be here to protect you, right?" He could almost feel her smiling brightly into his dark cloak.

"Of course, it's your job, so you better."

Vincent only nodded as he pushed into the apartment door.

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**A/N: **I hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the OOC Cloud, haha. The story actually came to me in a dream so that's how Cloud acted. Please leave a review.


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